WASHINGTON, DC - Feb. 28: House GOP Conference Chairman Adam H. Putnam, R-Fla., and House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., during a news conference on the Democratic leadership of the House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her top aides are regrouping after Democrats and Republicans resisted the latest effort to make good on a promise to hold lawmakers to a higher ethical standard. Pelosi had scheduled a Thursday vote on a measure (H Res 895) that would have created an independent ethics board...more »

WASHINGTON, DC - Feb. 28: House GOP Conference Chairman Adam H. Putnam, R-Fla., and House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., during a news conference on the Democratic leadership of the House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her top aides are regrouping after Democrats and Republicans resisted the latest effort to make good on a promise to hold lawmakers to a higher ethical standard. Pelosi had scheduled a Thursday vote on a measure (H Res 895) that would have created an independent ethics board with the power to initiate investigations. But opposition from within her own caucus and efforts by Republicans to rally support for an alternative plan forced Democratic leaders to scrap the vote. Meanwhile, the nation's electronic intelligence surveillance enhancement law expired Feb. 16 amid a dispute over granting immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperate with federal authorities in monitoring phone calls. Talks continue on coming up with a new version of the law that Democratic leaders and the White House can find acceptable. (Photo by Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly)« less